Adoption of Ontario Living Wage Standards

Housing Cambridge is proud to be part of the Ontario Living Wage Network. The OLWN is a of employers, employees, NGOs, non-profits, researchers, and proponents of decent work standards for all Ontario workers.

We’re helping change the conversation about what the minimum standard of pay for low-wage workers should be in the province.

The living wage is different than the provincially mandated minimum wage. Instead, it is based on a calculation that draws on community-specific data to determine actual expenses that a family of two working parents raising two children face. Living wage employers voluntarily decide that it’s the right thing to do.

The living wage is the hourly pay required to cover basic expenses such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation. It’s a wage that allows employees not just to subsist but, also, to have access to the type of things that make for a decent quality of life: the ability for a family to participate in the community, to be healthy and active social citizens.

The calculation is done municipality by municipality to reflect real local living costs and the hourly wage required to meet those basic costs.

For more information on the Ontario Living Wage Network, please visit OLWN.